Cypriot experts warn of negative consequences of 'Brexit'

Ireland, Malta and Cyprus are among the most concerned about possible Brexit as the rating agency Standard & Poor’s says. Cyprus, together with Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta are included in a group of countries that may suffer the most from a possible decision of British citizens to vote in favour of their country leaving the European Union. Fitch Ratings also included Cyprus in a list of economies likely to suffer from a possible Brexit.

Referring to its Brexit Sensitivity Index, statistical method, which measures goods and services exports to the UK, Standards & Poor’s said in a statement on its website that “the listed countries’ economies are extremely susceptible to any changes including trade and migratory aftershocks”.

Furthermore, “Ireland and other small open financial centers are on the top of the list of sovereigns vulnerable to a UK decision to exit the EU,” S&P credit analyst Frank Gill was quoted as saying.

While the index does not reflect potential political and market consequences of a Brexit, “it does distill the current real and financial economic links to the UK economy, the world’s fifth largest, while also indicating which sovereigns might be more exposed to an unwinding of the UK’s standout macro feature, which is 5.2 per cent of the economy" , S&P said.

To conclude, it is worth saying that the UK is Cyprus’s largest source of incoming tourism and second largest buyer of Cypriot exports as Cystat data shows. Moreover, the significant number of British citizens living on a permanent basis in Cyprus makes up the second largest group of immigrants after national Greeks.